Comic Arf [Paperback]

Craig Yoe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2008

A century of cartoon delights under one cover!

Another great Arf book for 2008, and it features one of the greatest comickers of all: Milt Gross! The Gross-ness starts off with a stunning cover painting done in the 1930s but, as they say, ripped from today's headlines. It's all about immigration: Uncle Sam grinds up a sea of immigrants and out come...classic comic strip characters!

Milt Gross drew a 1920s comic that left the last panel blank for aspiring cartoonists. Editor Craig Yoe drafted a who's who of contemporary cartoonists to complete Gross's unfinished masterpieces. Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, Seymour Chwast, Patrick McDonnell, Mort Walker, R. Crumb, Bil Keane, Johnny Ryan, Jaime Hernandez, Mike Mignola, Bill Griffith, Kaz, Gene Deitch, Joost Swarte and a dozen more cartooning celebrities contribute art especially done for this Arf Happening!

The Arf books are famed for unearthing unknown Old Skool cartoonist geniuses. Comic Arf showcases the brilliant Dudley Fisher who amazingly drew crowded scenes all from a bird's eye view. Arch Dale is another unsung genius getting his due with his Smurfs-meet-Dr. Seuss characters, the Doo-Dads, who populated Canadian comic strips 75 years ago.

Arf also highlights unusual work from recognized masters. Walt Kelly, famed for his Pogo strip, did a surreal nightmarish strip for children presented in all its glory in this latest Arf tome. All this and much more, from 1950s devilish horror comics to cartoonist portraits by Gary Panter and Mitch O'Connell.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The fourth volume in Yoe’s Arf series dedicated to “the unholy marriage of art and comics” is the strongest yet, due in no small part to a major chunk of it being devoted to vintage work by screwball cartoonist Milt Gross. First up is a generous sampling of Gross’ 1920s Draw Your Own Conclusions, in which Gross drew a three-panel setup and left the ending for readers to fill in. His 31 collaborators here include many top contemporary comics artists, from mainstream mainstays Mort Walker and Bil Keane to undergrounders R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman. An assortment of Gross’ other strips follows. More rediscovered treasures on hand include a pre-Pogo Walt Kelly story, Dudley Fisher’s remarkable bird’s-eye-view Sunday newspaper pages, Gardner Rea’s sophisticated magazine cartoons, Argentine girlie cartoonist Guillermo Divito, and another of the hell-themed pieces Yoe fancies, this one by underrated comic-book master Bob Powell and reproduced, like many of the other selections, from the original art. Yoe’s access to such riches appears limitless, so bark and howl for more, comics fans. --Gordon Flagg

About the Author

Craig Yoe operates Yoe! Studio from a mountaintop castle overlooking the Hudson River with his partner, Clizia Gussoni. YOE! creates anything from toys to theme parks, animation to advertising, for clients ranging from MTV to Nickelodeon, Microsoft to MAD.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (May 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560979127
• ISBN-13: 978-1560979128
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,459,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Vice magazine calls Craig Yoe the "Indiana Jones of comics historians." Publishers Weekly says he's the "archivist of the ridiculous and sublime" and calls his work "brilliant." The Onion calls him "the celebrated designer." The Library Journal, "a comics guru." BoingBoing hails him "a fine cartoonist and a comic book historian of the first water." Yoe was Creative Director/Vice President/General Manager of Jim Henson's Muppets, and a Creative Director at Nickelodeon and Disney. Craig has won an Eisner Award and the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wondrous!, June 18, 2008

By 

R. Schaad (Harrison, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comic Arf (Paperback)

This is right up there with the previous entries in the Arf series. Just got my copy today...really enjoying it! I'm always astounded at how much there is (already published in the past) waiting to be rediscovered. Thankfully, Craig Yoe has done the research for us. The quality of the printing and paper is fantastic as usual.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arf! Strikes Again!!!, January 7, 2010

By 

Tooned Up - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comic Arf (Paperback)

Another brilliant Arf! Thanks so much to Craig Yoe for delivering such fascinating, beautiful material in such a whimsical way. The book is both informative and funny - it includes just the right balance of savvy and splat. I hope there are many more Arf! books in the future (and be sure to check out the other three Arf! books if you get this one!)

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Collection of Brazen Images!, November 14, 2011

By 

Leslie Marley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comic Arf (Paperback)

Thumbing through an Arf is like going to a museum for me. Each image is full throttle wonderful and chock full of history and goodness. Craig Yoe has such wonderful taste and collects only the best of the best. I am new to comix and I have received an invaluable education on what is cool in comix from the Arf volumes.